High voltage fast charge utilizing two charge ports

ABSTRACT

Systems of an electrical vehicle and the operations thereof are provided. More particularly, a vehicle including a first charging port at a first location on the vehicle and a second charging port at a second location on the vehicle is provided. The first charging port of the vehicle may be different from the second charging port of the vehicle. That is, a standard associated with a receptacle of the first charging port may be different from a standard associated with a receptacle of the second charging port.

FIELD

The present disclosure is generally directed to vehicle systems, inparticular, toward electric and/or hybrid-electric vehicles.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, transportation methods have changed substantially. Thischange is due in part to a concern over the limited availability ofnatural resources, a proliferation in personal technology, and asocietal shift to adopt more environmentally friendly transportationsolutions. These considerations have encouraged the development of anumber of new flexible-fuel vehicles, hybrid-electric vehicles, andelectric vehicles.

While these vehicles appear to be new, they are generally implementedthrough a number of traditional subsystems that are merely tied to analternative power source. In fact, the design and construction of thevehicles is limited to standard frame sizes, shapes, materials, andtransportation concepts. Among other things, these limitations fail totake advantage of the benefits of new technology, power sources, andsupport infrastructure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the vehicle in accordance with at least someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the vehicle in accordance with embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the instrument panel of the vehicleaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an electrical system ofthe vehicle;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a power generation unitassociated with the electrical system of the vehicle;

FIGS. 7A-B are block diagrams of an embodiment of a power storage systemassociated with the electrical system of the vehicle;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an embodiment of loads associated with theelectrical system of the vehicle;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a communications subsystemof the vehicle;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a computing environment associated withthe embodiments presented herein;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a computing device associated with one ormore components described herein;

FIG. 12 shows configurations of one or more charging ports in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 depicts example charging configurations at one or more chargingareas in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 14 depicts a charging method in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in connectionwith a vehicle, and in some embodiments, an electric vehicle,rechargeable electric vehicle, and/or hybrid-electric vehicle andassociated systems.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a vehicle 100 in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. The electric vehicle 100comprises a vehicle front 110, vehicle aft 120, vehicle roof 130, atleast one vehicle side 160, a vehicle undercarriage 140, and a vehicleinterior 150. In any event, the vehicle 100 may include a frame 104 andone or more body panels 108 mounted or affixed thereto. The vehicle 100may include one or more interior components (e.g., components inside aninterior space 150, or user space, of a vehicle 100, etc.), exteriorcomponents (e.g., components outside of the interior space 150, or userspace, of a vehicle 100, etc.), drive systems, controls systems,structural components, etc. The vehicle 100 may include a plurality ofcharging ports 170 located on the vehicle front 110, the vehicle aft120, the vehicle roof 130, the at least one vehicle side 160, thevehicle undercarriage 140, and combinations thereof. Although shown inthe form of a car, it should be appreciated that the vehicle 100described herein may include any conveyance or model of a conveyance,where the conveyance was designed for the purpose of moving one or moretangible objects, such as people, animals, cargo, and the like. The term“vehicle” does not require that a conveyance moves or is capable ofmovement. Typical vehicles may include, but are in no way limited to,cars, trucks, motorcycles, busses, automobiles, trains, railedconveyances, boats, ships, marine conveyances, submarine conveyances,airplanes, space craft, flying machines, human-powered conveyances, andthe like.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a plan view of a vehicle 100 will be describedin accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. As providedabove, the vehicle 100 may comprise a number of electrical and/ormechanical systems, subsystems, etc. The mechanical systems of thevehicle 100 can include structural, power, safety, and communicationssubsystems, to name a few. While each subsystem may be describedseparately, it should be appreciated that the components of a particularsubsystem may be shared between one or more other subsystems of thevehicle 100.

The structural subsystem includes the frame 104 of the vehicle 100. Theframe 104 may comprise a separate frame and body construction (i.e.,body-on-frame construction), a unitary frame and body construction(i.e., a unibody construction), or any other construction defining thestructure of the vehicle 100. The frame 104 may be made from one or morematerials including, but in no way limited to, steel, titanium,aluminum, carbon fiber, plastic, polymers, etc., and/or combinationsthereof. In some embodiments, the frame 104 may be formed, welded,fused, fastened, pressed, etc., combinations thereof, or otherwiseshaped to define a physical structure and strength of the vehicle 100.In any event, the frame 104 may comprise one or more surfaces,connections, protrusions, cavities, mounting points, tabs, slots, orother features that are configured to receive other components that makeup the vehicle 100. For example, the body panels 108, powertrainsubsystem, control systems, interior components, communicationssubsystem, and safety subsystem may interconnect with, or attach to, theframe 104 of the vehicle 100.

The frame 104 may include one or more modular system and/or subsystemconnection mechanisms. These mechanisms may include features that areconfigured to provide a selectively interchangeable interface for one ormore of the systems and/or subsystems described herein. The mechanismsmay provide for a quick exchange, or swapping, of components whileproviding enhanced security and adaptability over conventionalmanufacturing or attachment. For instance, the ability to selectivelyinterchange systems and/or subsystems in the vehicle 100 allows thevehicle 100 to adapt to the ever-changing technological demands ofsociety and advances in safety. Among other things, the mechanisms mayprovide for the quick exchange of batteries, capacitors, power sources208A, 208B, motors 212, engines, safety equipment, controllers, userinterfaces, interior and exterior components, body panels 108, bumpers216A, 216B, sensors, etc., and/or combinations thereof. Additionally oralternatively, the mechanisms may provide unique security hardwareand/or software embedded therein that, among other things, can preventfraudulent or low quality construction replacements from being used inthe vehicle 100. Similarly, the mechanisms, subsystems, and/or receivingfeatures in the vehicle 100 may employ poka-yoke, or mistake-proofing,features that ensure a particular mechanism is always interconnectedwith the vehicle 100 in a correct position, function, etc.

By way of example, complete systems or subsystems may be removed and/orreplaced from a vehicle 100 utilizing a single-minute exchange (“SME”)principle. In some embodiments, the frame 104 may include slides,receptacles, cavities, protrusions, and/or a number of other featuresthat allow for quick exchange of system components. In one embodiment,the frame 104 may include tray or ledge features, mechanicalinterconnection features, locking mechanisms, retaining mechanisms,etc., and/or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, it may bebeneficial to quickly remove a used component of a power source 208A,208B (e.g., battery unit, capacitor unit, etc.) from the vehicle 100 andreplace the used component of the power source 208A, 208B with a chargedor new power source. Continuing this example, the power source 208A,208B may include selectively interchangeable features that interconnectwith the frame 104 or other portion of the vehicle 100. For instance, ina power source 208A, 208B replacement, the quick release features may beconfigured to release the power source 208A, 208B from an engagedposition and slide or move in a direction away from the frame 104 of avehicle 100. Once removed, or separated from, the vehicle 100, the powersource 208A, 208B may be replaced (e.g., with a new power source, acharged power source, etc.) by engaging the replacement power sourceinto a system receiving position adjacent to the vehicle 100. In someembodiments, the vehicle 100 may include one or more actuatorsconfigured to position, lift, slide, or otherwise engage the replacementpower source with the vehicle 100. In one embodiment, the replacementpower source may be inserted into the vehicle 100 or vehicle frame 104with mechanisms and/or machines that are external and/or separate fromthe vehicle 100.

The power system of the vehicle 100 may include the powertrain, powerdistribution system, accessory power system, and/or any other componentsthat store power, provide power, convert power, and/or distribute powerto one or more portions of the vehicle 100. The powertrain may includethe one or more electric motors 212 of the vehicle 100. The electricmotors 212 are configured to convert electrical energy provided by apower source 208A, 208B into mechanical energy. This mechanical energymay be in the form of a rotational or other output force that isconfigured to propel or otherwise provide a motive force for the vehicle100.

In some embodiments, the vehicle 100 may include one or more drivewheels 220 that are driven by the one or more electric motors 212 andmotor controllers 214. In some cases, the vehicle 100 may include anelectric motor 212 configured to provide a driving force for each drivewheel 220. In other cases, a single electric motor 212 may be configuredto share an output force between two or more drive wheels 220 via one ormore power transmission components. It is an aspect of the presentdisclosure that the powertrain may include one or more powertransmission components, motor controllers 214, and/or power controllersthat can provide a controlled output of power to one or more of thedrive wheels 220 of the vehicle 100. The power transmission components,power controllers, or motor controllers 214 may be controlled by atleast one other vehicle controller or computer system as describedherein.

As provided above, the powertrain of the vehicle 100 may include one ormore power sources 208A, 208B. These one or more power sources 208A,208B may be configured to provide drive power, system and/or subsystempower, accessory power, etc. While described herein as a single powersource 208 for sake of clarity, embodiments of the present disclosureare not so limited. For example, it should be appreciated thatindependent, different, or separate power sources 208A, 208B may providepower to various systems of the vehicle 100. For instance, a drive powersource may be configured to provide the power for the one or moreelectric motors 212 of the vehicle 100, while a system power source maybe configured to provide the power for one or more other systems and/orsubsystems of the vehicle 100. Other power sources may include anaccessory power source, a backup power source, a critical system powersource, and/or other separate power sources. Separating the powersources 208A, 208B in this manner may provide a number of benefits overconventional vehicle systems. For example, separating the power sources208A, 208B allows one power source 208, and/or one or more components ofthe power source 208, to be removed and/or replaced independentlywithout requiring that power be removed from all systems and/orsubsystems of the vehicle 100 during a power source 208removal/replacement. For instance, one or more of the accessories,communications, safety equipment, and/or backup power systems, etc., maybe maintained even when a particular power source 208A, 208B, orcomponent of power source 208A, 208B is depleted, removed, or becomesotherwise inoperable.

Moreover, by separating the power source 208 into two or more powersources 208A and 208B, each of the power sources 208A and 208B may becharged independently of one another. Thus, power source 208 having acombined 60 kWh capacity for example, may comprise a first power source208A and a second power source 208B, each having a 30 kWh capacity. Thepower source 208A and power source 208B may be coupled together orotherwise operate in a parallel manner such that the power source 208 iscapable of sourcing power at a lower voltage than if the power source208A and power source 208B were connected in series. In that the powersource 208A and power source 208B are separate, each may be chargedindependently of one another and at the same time. Although each of thepower sources 208A and 208B may take longer to charge than charging halfa power source with twice the capacity, since power source 208A and 208Bcan be charged at the same time, an amount of time required to chargeboth power sources 208A and 208B at the same time is approximately halfthe time it would take to charge a power source with twice the capacityof an individual power source 208A or 208B. Accordingly, where it maytake 40 minutes to charge a power source having a single charge storageelement but having twice the capacity of a power source 208A or 208B, itmay take 25 minutes to charge power sources 208A and 208B together.

As charging at higher voltages becomes more accessible, an amount oftime required to charge the power sources may decrease. For example, itmay take half as long to charge a charge storage element using an 800volt charger than it does using a 400 volt charger. However, charging athigher voltages requires charge storage elements and charging systemscapable of supporting the higher voltages. Issues including electricalisolation must be addressed. At least one benefit to having separatepower sources includes the ability to utilize separate electricalisolation systems. That is, high voltage systems that may be resident onthe vehicle 100 may be mounted to the vehicle body/chassis andtherefore, a minimum amount of electrical isolation (resistance) must bemaintained between the high voltage system and the body/chassis toensure a safe vehicle during operation, charging, and/or repair. Byusing two separate power sources 208A and 208B for example, a lowerelectrical isolation resistance can be maintained for each power source208A, 208B while still complying with applicable electrical isolationrequirements, where such electrical isolation requirements are based onthe amount of leakage current. For example, 49 CFR 571.305 indicatesthat electrical isolation of a high voltage source in the vehicle meansthe electrical resistance between the high voltage source and any of thevehicle's electrical chassis divided by the working voltage of the highvoltage source. In order to comply with 49 CFR 571.305, the electricalisolation of the high voltage source, determined in accordance with theprocedure specified in S7.6, must be greater than or equal to one of thefollowing: (1) 500 ohms/volt for an AC high voltage source; or (2) 500ohms/volt for a DC high voltage source without electrical isolationmonitoring during vehicle operation; or (3) 100 ohms/volt for a DC highvoltage source with electrical isolation monitoring, in accordance withthe requirements of S5.4, during vehicle operation. In that theelectrical isolation expressed in ohms/volt is dependent upon a workingvoltage of the power source, when the working voltage is double,isolation resistance R_(i) must be doubled as well, in order to maintainan electrical isolation that complies with the necessary requirements.Although 49 CFR 571.305 is mainly applicable to electrical isolationrequirements when the electric vehicle is in operation, similar conceptswould be required during charging. That is, during a charging operation,a specific amount of electrical isolation may be required; rather thancharging with an increased voltage and therefore an increased amount ofelectrical isolation, charging multiple power sources, 208A and 208B forexample, at a lower voltage may make it easier to comply with requiredamounts of electrical isolation during a charging operation.

In some embodiments, the power source may be separated into two or morecells, units, sources, and/or systems. By way of example, a vehicle 100may include a first drive power source 208A and a second drive powersource 208B. The first drive power source 208A may be operatedindependently from or in conjunction with the second drive power source208B and vice versa. Continuing this example, the first drive powersource 208A may be removed from a vehicle while a second drive powersource 208B can be maintained in the vehicle 100 to provide drive power.This approach allows the vehicle 100 to significantly reduce weight(e.g., of the first drive power source 208A, etc.) and improve powerconsumption, even if only for a temporary period of time. In some cases,a vehicle 100 running low on power may automatically determine thatpulling over to a rest area, emergency lane, and removing, or “droppingoff,” at least one power source 208A, 208B may reduce enough weight ofthe vehicle 100 to allow the vehicle 100 to navigate to the closestpower source replacement and/or charging area. In some embodiments, theremoved, or “dropped off,” power source 208A may be collected by acollection service, vehicle mechanic, tow truck, or even another vehicleor individual.

The power source 208 may include a GPS or other geographical locationsystem that may be configured to emit a location signal to one or morereceiving entities. For instance, the signal may be broadcast ortargeted to a specific receiving party. Additionally or alternatively,the power source 208 may include a unique identifier that may be used toassociate the power source 208 with a particular vehicle 100 or vehicleuser. This unique identifier may allow an efficient recovery of thepower source 208 dropped off. In some embodiments, the unique identifiermay provide information for the particular vehicle 100 or vehicle userto be billed or charged with a cost of recovery for the power source208.

The power source 208 may include a charge controller 224 that may beconfigured to determine charge levels of the power source 208, control arate at which charge is drawn from the power source 208, control a rateat which charge is added to the power source 208, and/or monitor ahealth of the power source 208 (e.g., one or more cells, portions,etc.). In some embodiments, the charge controller 224 or the powersource 208 may include a communication interface. The communicationinterface may allow the charge controller 224 to report a state of thepower source 208 to one or more other controllers of the vehicle 100 oreven communicate with a communication device separate and/or apart fromthe vehicle 100. Additionally or alternatively, the communicationinterface may be configured to receive instructions (e.g., controlinstructions, charge instructions, communication instructions, etc.)from one or more other controllers or computers of the vehicle 100 or acommunication device that is separate and/or apart from the vehicle 100.

The powertrain includes one or more power distribution systemsconfigured to transmit power from the power source 208 to one or moreelectric motors 212 in the vehicle 100. The power distribution systemmay include electrical interconnections 228 in the form of cables,wires, traces, wireless power transmission systems, etc., and/orcombinations thereof. It is an aspect of the present disclosure that thevehicle 100 includes one or more redundant electrical interconnections232 of the power distribution system. The redundant electricalinterconnections 232 can allow power to be distributed to one or moresystems and/or subsystems of the vehicle 100 even in the event of afailure of an electrical interconnection portion of the vehicle 100(e.g., due to an accident, mishap, tampering, or other harm to aparticular electrical interconnection, etc.). In some embodiments, auser of a vehicle 100 may be alerted via a user interface associatedwith the vehicle 100 that a redundant electrical interconnection 232 isbeing used and/or damage has occurred to a particular area of thevehicle electrical system. In any event, the one or more redundantelectrical interconnections 232 may be configured along completelydifferent routes than the electrical interconnections 228 and/or includedifferent modes of failure than the electrical interconnections 228 to,among other things, prevent a total interruption of power distributionin the event of a failure.

In some embodiments, the power distribution system may include an energyrecovery system 236. This energy recovery system 236, or kinetic energyrecovery system, may be configured to recover energy produced by themovement of a vehicle 100. The recovered energy may be stored aselectrical and/or mechanical energy. For instance, as a vehicle 100travels or moves, a certain amount of energy is required to accelerate,maintain a speed, stop, or slow the vehicle 100. In any event, a movingvehicle has a certain amount of kinetic energy. When brakes are appliedin a typical moving vehicle, most of the kinetic energy of the vehicleis lost as the generation of heat in the braking mechanism. In an energyrecovery system 236, when a vehicle 100 brakes, at least a portion ofthe kinetic energy is converted into electrical and/or mechanical energyfor storage. Mechanical energy may be stored as mechanical movement(e.g., in a flywheel, etc.) and electrical energy may be stored inbatteries, capacitors, and/or some other electrical storage system. Insome embodiments, electrical energy recovered may be stored in the powersource 208. For example, the recovered electrical energy may be used tocharge the power source 208 of the vehicle 100.

The vehicle 100 may include one or more safety systems. Vehicle safetysystems can include a variety of mechanical and/or electrical componentsincluding, but in no way limited to, low impact or energy-absorbingbumpers 216A, 216B, crumple zones, reinforced body panels, reinforcedframe components, impact bars, power source containment zones, safetyglass, seatbelts, supplemental restraint systems, air bags, escapehatches, removable access panels, impact sensors, accelerometers, visionsystems, radar systems, etc., and/or the like. In some embodiments, theone or more of the safety components may include a safety sensor orgroup of safety sensors associated with the one or more of the safetycomponents. For example, a crumple zone may include one or more straingages, impact sensors, pressure transducers, etc. These sensors may beconfigured to detect or determine whether a portion of the vehicle 100has been subjected to a particular force, deformation, or other impact.Once detected, the information collected by the sensors may betransmitted or sent to one or more of a controller of the vehicle 100(e.g., a safety controller, vehicle controller, etc.) or a communicationdevice associated with the vehicle 100 (e.g., across a communicationnetwork, etc.).

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the vehicle 100 in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 3 shows abroken section 302 of a charging system 300 for the vehicle 100. Thecharging system 300 may include a plug or receptacle 304 configured toreceive power from an external power source (e.g., a source of powerthat is external to and/or separate from the vehicle 100, etc.). Anexample of an external power source may include the standard industrial,commercial, or residential power that is provided across power lines.Another example of an external power source may include a proprietarypower system configured to provide power to the vehicle 100. In anyevent, power received at the plug/receptacle 304 may be transferred viaat least one power transmission interconnection 308. Similar, if notidentical, to the electrical interconnections 228 described above, theat least one power transmission interconnection 308 may be one or morecables, wires, traces, wireless power transmission systems, etc., and/orcombinations thereof. Electrical energy in the form of charge can betransferred from the external power source to the charge controller 224.As provided above, the charge controller 224 may regulate the additionof charge to at least one power source 208 of the vehicle 100 (e.g.,until the at least one power source 208 is full or at a desiredcapacity, etc.).

In some embodiments, the vehicle 100 may include an inductive chargingsystem and inductive charger. The inductive charger may be configured toreceive electrical energy from an inductive power source external to thevehicle 100. In one embodiment, when the vehicle 100 and/or theinductive charger is positioned over an inductive power source externalto the vehicle 100, electrical energy can be transferred from theinductive power source to the vehicle 100. For example, the inductivecharger may receive the charge and transfer the charge via at least onepower transmission interconnection to the charge controller 224 and/orthe power source 208 of the vehicle 100. The inductive charger may beconcealed in a portion of the vehicle 100 (e.g., at least partiallyprotected by the frame 104, one or more body panels 108, a shroud, ashield, a protective cover, etc., and/or combinations thereof) and/ormay be located in a position similar to the one or more plugs orreceptacles 304.

As further depicted in FIG. 3, the vehicle 100 may include one or moreplugs or receptacles 304A-F positioned at various locations around thevehicle 100. Although depicting plugs or receptacles 304A, 304B, 304C,304D, 304E, and 304F, it should be understood that more or fewer plug orreceptacles 304 may be present. The plug or receptacles 304 depicted inFIG. 3 may be positioned around the vehicle 100 such that during acharging operation, the plugs or receptacles 304 are located in the mostconvenient charging locations. For example, a plug or receptacle 304Amay be located on a first side of the vehicle 100 while a plug orreceptacle 304B may be located on a second side of the vehicle 100.Thus, the vehicle 100, during a charging operation, may be able toutilize two charging stations in order to charge one or more powersources 208. Similarly, a plug or receptacle 304B may be located on afirst side of the vehicle 100 while a plug or receptacle 304C is locatedon a second side of the vehicle 100. Thus, the vehicle 100, during acharging operation, may be able to utilize two charging stations inorder to charge one or more power sources 208. It is important to pointout that the plugs or receptacles 304A, B, C, D, E, and/or F are locatedapart from one another. Accordingly, while some existing vehicles mayinclude two plugs or receptacles 304 at a single location to accommodatemultiple charging connectors of different charging systems, although notlimited to such a configuration, the plugs or receptacles 304 locatedabout the vehicle 100 may accommodate the same connectors of thecharging system. Further description of the charging connectors may befound with reference to FIG. 13, for example.

In addition to the mechanical components described herein, the vehicle100 may include a number of user interface devices. The user interfacedevices receive and translate human input into a mechanical movement orelectrical signal or stimulus. The human input may be one or more ofmotion (e.g., body movement, body part movement, in two-dimensional orthree-dimensional space, etc.), voice, touch, and/or physicalinteraction with the components of the vehicle 100. In some embodiments,the human input may be configured to control one or more functions ofthe vehicle 100 and/or systems of the vehicle 100 described herein. Userinterfaces may include, but are in no way limited to, at least onegraphical user interface of a display device, steering wheel ormechanism, transmission lever or button (e.g., including park, neutral,reverse, and/or drive positions, etc.), throttle control pedal ormechanism, brake control pedal or mechanism, power control switch,communications equipment, etc.

FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of the instrument panel 400 of the vehicle100. The instrument panel 400 of vehicle 100 comprises a steering wheel410, a vehicle operational display 420 (e.g., configured to presentand/or display driving data such as speed, measured air resistance,vehicle information, entertainment information, etc.), one or moreauxiliary displays 424 (e.g., configured to present and/or displayinformation segregated from the operational display 420, entertainmentapplications, movies, music, etc.), a heads-up display 434 (e.g.,configured to display any information previously described including,but in no way limited to, guidance information such as route todestination, or obstacle warning information to warn of a potentialcollision, or some or all primary vehicle operational data such asspeed, resistance, etc.), a power management display 428 (e.g.,configured to display data corresponding to electric power levels ofvehicle 100, reserve power, charging status, etc.), and an input device432 (e.g., a controller, touchscreen, or other interface deviceconfigured to interface with one or more displays in the instrumentpanel or components of the vehicle 100. The input device 432 may beconfigured as a joystick, mouse, touchpad, tablet, 3D gesture capturedevice, etc.). In some embodiments, the input device 432 may be used tomanually maneuver a portion of the vehicle 100 into a charging position.

While one or more of displays of instrument panel 400 may betouch-screen displays, it should be appreciated that the vehicleoperational display may be a display incapable of receiving touch input.For instance, the operational display 420 that spans across an interiorspace centerline 404 and across both a first zone 408A and a second zone408B may be isolated from receiving input from touch, especially from apassenger. In some cases, a display that provides vehicle operation orcritical systems information and interface may be restricted fromreceiving touch input and/or be configured as a non-touch display. Thistype of configuration can prevent dangerous mistakes in providing touchinput where such input may cause an accident or unwanted control.

In some embodiments, one or more displays of the instrument panel 400may be mobile devices and/or applications residing on a mobile devicesuch as a smart phone. Additionally or alternatively, any of theinformation described herein may be presented to one or more portions420A-N of the operational display 420 or other display 424, 428, 434. Inone embodiment, one or more displays of the instrument panel 400 may bephysically separated or detached from the instrument panel 400. In somecases, a detachable display may remain tethered to the instrument panel.Of course, one or more portions 420A-N of the operational display 420 orother display 424, 428, 434 may include an electrical isolationmonitoring system indicator that displays a warning visible to thedriver seated in the driver's designated seating position should anelectrical isolation fault occur.

The portions 420A-N of the operational display 420 may be dynamicallyreconfigured and/or resized to suit any display of information asdescribed. Additionally or alternatively, the number of portions 420A-Nused to visually present information via the operational display 420 maybe dynamically increased or decreased as required, and are not limitedto the configurations shown.

An embodiment of the electrical system 500 associated with the vehicle100 may be as shown in FIG. 5. The electrical system 500 can includepower source(s) that generate power, power storage that stores power,and/or load(s) that consume power. Power sources may be associated witha power generation unit 504. Power storage may be associated with apower storage system 508. Loads may be associated with loads 512. Theelectrical system 500 may be managed by a power management controller224. Further, the electrical system 500 can include one or more otherinterfaces or controllers, which can include a billing and cost controlunit 516 that provides billings costs associated with charging thevehicle 100 using multiple charging stations.

The power generation unit 504 may be as described in conjunction withFIG. 6. The power storage system 508 may be as described in conjunctionwith FIG. 7. The loads 512 may be as described in conjunction with FIG.8.

The billing and cost controller 516 may interface with the powermanagement controller 224 to determine the amount of charge or powerprovided to the power storage system 508 through the power generationunit 504. The billing and cost control unit 516 can then provideinformation for billing the vehicle owner. Thus, the billing and costcontrol unit 516 can receive and/or send power information to thirdparty system(s) regarding the received charge from an external source.The information provided can help determine an amount of money required,from the owner of the vehicle, as payment for the provided power.Alternatively, or in addition, if the owner of the vehicle providedpower to another vehicle (or another device/system), that owner may beowed compensation for the provided power or energy, e.g., a credit.Moreover, a cost associated with using multiple charging ports 304 atthe same time to charge one or more power sources 208 may be assessedvia the billing and cost controller 516. For example, a surcharge may beadded to charging costs when utilizing multiple charging units.

The power management controller 224 can be a computer or computingsystem(s) and/or electrical system with associated components, asdescribed herein, capable of managing the power generation unit 504 toreceive power, routing the power to the power storage system 508, andthen providing the power from either the power generation unit 504and/or the power storage system 508 to the loads 512. Thus, the powermanagement controller 224 may execute programming that controlsswitches, devices, components, etc. involved in the reception, storage,and provision of the power in the electrical system 500.

An embodiment of the power generation unit 504 may be as shown in FIG.6. Generally, the power generation unit 504 may be electrically coupledto one or more power source systems 508. The power source systems 508can include one or more systems capable of providing power internaland/or associated with the vehicle 100 and/or one or more systemscapable of providing power external to the vehicle 100 to which thevehicle 100 electrically connects. One of the internal systems caninclude an on board generator 604. The generator 604 may be analternating current (AC) generator, a direct current (DC) generator, ora self-excited generator. The AC generators can include inductiongenerators, linear electric generators, and/or other types ofgenerators. The DC generators can include homopolar generators and/orother types of generators. The generator 604 can be brushless or includebrush contacts and generate the electric field with permanent magnets orthrough induction. The generator 604 may be mechanically coupled to asource of kinetic energy, such as an axle or some other power take-off.The generator 604 may also have another mechanical coupling to anexterior source of kinetic energy, for example, a wind turbine.

Another power source system 508 may include wired or wireless charging608. The wireless charging system 608 may include inductive and/orresonant frequency inductive charging systems that can include coils,frequency generators, controllers, etc. Additional details of wirelesscharging can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/351,440,entitled “floating armature,” the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference, in its entirety, for all that it teaches andfor all purposes.

Wired charging may be any kind of grid-connected charging that has aphysical connection, although, the wireless charging may be gridconnected through a wireless interface. The wired charging system caninclude connectors, wired interconnections, the controllers, etc. Thewired and wireless charging systems 608 can provide power to the powergeneration unit 504 from external systems capable of providing power.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the wiredcharging system may include multiple plugs or receptacles 304 asdescribed in conjunction with FIG. 12. Examples of plugs or receptacles304 include, but are not limited to, J1772, Nema 520, Nema 1450, Nema515, and J1772/SAE combo. As previously described, the vehicle 100 mayinclude two plugs or receptacles 304 of the same standard.

Internal sources for power may include a regenerative braking system612. The regenerative braking system 612 can convert the kinetic energyof the moving car into electrical energy through a generation systemmounted within the wheels, axle, and/or braking system of the vehicle100. The regenerative braking system 612 can include any coils, magnets,electrical interconnections, converters, controllers, etc. required toconvert the kinetic energy into electrical energy.

Another source of power 208, internal to or associated with the vehicle100, may be a solar array 616. The solar array 616 may include anysystem or device of one or more solar cells mounted on the exterior ofthe vehicle 100 or integrated within the body panels of the vehicle 100that provides or converts solar energy into electrical energy to provideto the power generation unit 504.

The power sources 208 may be connected to the power generation unit 504through an electrical interconnection 618. The electricalinterconnection 618 can include any wire, interface, bus, etc. betweenthe one or more power sources 208 and the power generation unit 504.

The power generation unit 504 can also include a power source interface620. The power source interface 620 can be any type of physical and/orelectrical interface used to receive the electrical energy from the oneor more power sources 208; thus, the power source interface 620 caninclude an electrical interface 624 that receives the electrical energyand a mechanical interface 628 which may include wires, connectors, orother types of devices or physical connections. The mechanical interface608 can also include a physical/electrical connection 634 to the powergeneration unit 504.

The electrical energy from the power source 208 can be processed throughthe power source interface 624 to an electric converter 632. Theelectric converter 632 may convert the characteristics of the power fromone of the power sources into a useable form that may be used either bythe power storage 208 or one or more loads 512 within the vehicle 100.The electrical converter 632 may include any electronics or electricaldevices and/or component that can change electrical characteristics,e.g., AC frequency, amplitude, phase, etc. associated with theelectrical energy provided by the power source 208. The convertedelectrical energy may then be provided to an optional conditioner 638.The conditioner 638 may include any electronics or electrical devicesand/or component that may further condition the converted electricalenergy by removing harmonics, noise, etc. from the electrical energy toprovide a more stable and effective form of power to the vehicle 100. Ofcourse, the electrical converter 632 and the conditioner 638 may beincluded as part of a power source 508.

An embodiment of the power storage system 508 may be as shown in FIG.7A. The power storage system 508 may include one or more switches 704,one or more electrical converters 708, one or more switches 712, one ormore charge storage devices 716, and one or more charge management units720. The one or more switches 704 may route power received from one ormore ports 304A-N to the one or more converters 708 via one or moreconnections 702A-N. The one or more connections 702A-N may include, butare not limited to, wires, connectors, or other types of devices orphysical/non-physical connections. The switch 704 may be any type ofswitch capable of switching power within the power storage system 508.Non-limiting examples of the switch 704 may include mechanical,solid-state, and/or electromechanical.

As previously discussed, the converter 708 may include any electronicsor electrical devices and/or component that can change electricalcharacteristics, e.g., AC frequency, amplitude, phase, etc. Theconverter 708 may include one or more of the previously discussedconditioners. The converter 708 may receive power from the switch 708 byone or more connections, where each connection may be the same as orsimilar to the connections 702A-N as previously described. The converter708 may be the same as or similar to the electrical converter 632 shownin FIG. 6. The converter 708 may be a replacement for the electricalconverter 632 shown in FIG. 6 and thus eliminate the need for theelectrical converter 632 as shown in FIG. 6. However, if the electricalconverter 632 is provided in the power generation unit 504, theconverter 708, as shown in the power storage system 508, may beeliminated. The converter 708 can also be redundant or different fromthe electrical converter 632 shown in FIG. 6 and may provide a differentform of energy to the charge storage device 716. Thus, the converter 708can change the energy characteristics specifically for the chargestorage device 716.

Another switch 712 may be included in the power source 208. Like theswitch 704, the switch 712 may be any type of switch capable ofswitching power within the power source storage system 508. Non-limitingexamples of the switch 704 may include mechanical, solid-state, and/orelectromechanical. The switch 712 may be responsible for routing powerfrom the one or more converters 708 to the one or more charge storagedevices 716 via one or more connections, where each connection may bethe same as or similar to the connections 702A-N as previouslydescribed. The one or more charge storage devices 708 may include, butare not limited to, one or more batteries, one or more rechargeablebatteries, one or more capacitors, one or more accumulators, one or moresupercapacitors, one or more ultrabatteries, and combinations thereof.The one or more charge storage devices 716 may receive electricalcharge, or power, from the one or more switches 712 via one or moreconnections, where each connection may be the same as or similar to theconnections 702A-N as previously described.

A battery of the charge storage device 716 may be any type of batteryfor storing electrical energy, for example, a lithium ion battery, alead acid battery, a nickel cadmium battery, etc. Further, the batteryof the charge storage device 716 may store energy in one of a variety ofdifferent manners, such as in ionic fluids or other types of fuel cellsystems. As previously mentioned, the charge storage device 716 may alsoinclude one or more high-capacity capacitors. The capacitors may be usedfor long-term or short-term storage of electrical energy. The input intothe battery or capacitor may be different from the output, and thus, thecapacitor may be charged quickly but drain slowly. The functioning ofthe one or more switches 704, one or more converters 708, one or moreswitches 712, and/or one or charge storage devices 716 may be monitoredor managed by a charge management unit 720.

The charge management unit 720 may include any hardware (e.g., anyelectronics or electrical devices and/or components), software, orfirmware operable to adjust the operations of the electrical converter632, one or more switches 704, one or more converters 708, one or moreswitches 712, and/or one or more charge storage devices 716. The chargemanagement unit 720 may receive inputs or periodically monitor theelectrical converter 632, one or more switches 704, one or moreconverters 708, one or more switches 712, and/or one or more chargestorage devices 716, and from this information, the charge managementunit 720 may then adjust settings or inputs into the electricalconverter 632, one or more switches 704, one or more converters 708, oneor more switches 712, and/or one or more charge storage devices 716 tocontrol the operation of the power storage system 508.

Moreover, the charge management unit 720 may receive inputs and/ormonitor the one or more plugs or receptacles 304. Based on theinformation received from the one or more plugs or receptacles 304, thecharge management unit 720 may configure the one or more switches 704,one or more converters 708, one or more switches 712, and/or one or morecharge storage devices 716. In accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure, FIG. 7B illustrates an example of the chargemanagement unit 720 configuring one or more of the one or more switches704, one or more of the one or more converters 708, one or more of theone or more switches 712, and/or one or more of the one or more chargestorage devices 716.

Accordingly, as depicted in FIG. 7B, the charge management unit 720 maydetect that a plug or receptacle of the first charging port 304A may beconnected to an external charging unit of a first type. As one example,the charge management unit 720 may determine that the plug or receptacleof the first charging port 304A is connected to an external chargingunit providing 400 volts for example. In some configurations, the chargemanagement unit 720 may determine that the energy, or charge, providedthrough the plug or receptacle of the first charging port 304A may needto be provided to the first battery 716A and the second battery 716B ofthe one or more charge storage devices 716. Accordingly, the chargemanagement unit 720 may configure the first switch 704A to providecharge, or power, to both the first converter 708A and the secondconverter 708B. The charge management unit 720 may then configure thefirst switch 712A to provide charge, or power, to the first battery 716Aand configure the second switch 712B to provide charge, or power, to thesecond battery 716B. Alternatively, or in addition, the chargemanagement unit 720 may configure the first switch 704A to providecharge, or power, to the first converter 708A, where the first converter708A provides the charge, or power, to the first switch 712A. The chargemanagement unit 720 may configure the first switch 712A to providecharge, or power, to both the first battery 716A and to the secondbattery 716B. Of course, the power and/or voltage detected at the firstcharging port 304A by the charge management unit 720 may be differentthan 400 volts. As one example, the voltage could be consistent with afast charge scenario in which 800 volts may be detected at the plug orreceptacle of the first charging port 304A.

As another example, the charge management unit 720 may determine thatthe plug or receptacle of the first charging port 304A is connected toan external charging unit providing 400 volts. In some configurations,the charge management unit 720 may determine that the energy, or charge,provided through the plug or receptacle of the first charging port 304Amay need to be provided to the first battery 716A and the second battery716B of the one or more charge storage devices 716. Accordingly, thecharge management unit 720 may configure the second switch 704B toprovide charge, or power, to both the first converter 708A and thesecond converter 708B. The charge management unit 720 may then configurethe first switch 712A to provide charge, or power, to the first battery716A and configure the second switch 712B to provide charge, or power,to the second battery 716B. Alternatively, or in addition, the chargemanagement unit 720 may configure the second switch 704B to providecharge, or power, to the second converter 708B, where the secondconverter 708B provides the charge, or power, to the second switch 712B.The charge management unit 720 may configure the second switch 712B toprovide charge, or power, to both the first battery 716A and to thesecond battery 716B. Of course, the power and/or voltage detected at thesecond charging port 304B by the charge management unit 720 may bedifferent than 400 volts. As one example, the voltage could beconsistent with a fast charge scenario in which 800 volts may bedetected at the plug or receptacle of the second charging port 304B.

As another example, the charge management unit 720 may detect that boththe first charging port 304A and the second charging port 304B arereceiving power from an external charging unit or station. That is, thecharge management unit 720 may detect that at each of the plug orreceptacle of the first charging port 304A and the plug or receptacle ofthe second charging port 304B, a voltage of 400V exists. Accordingly,the charge management unit 720 may determine that each of the firstbattery 716A and the second battery 716B may receive a charge, or power,consistent with a respective plug or receptacle of the first chargingport 304A and/or the second charging port 304B. Accordingly, the chargemanagement unit 720 may configure the first switch 704A to providecharge, or power, to the first converter 708A, which provides firstswitch 712A with charge, or power. The first switch 712A may thenprovide charge, or power, to the first battery 716A. Similarly, thecharge management unit 720 may configure the second switch 704B toprovide charge, or power, to the second converter 708B, which providescharge, or power, to the second battery 716B. In such a configuration,the one or more charge storage devices 716 may be charged in an amountof time that is approximately half of an amount of time it wouldnormally take to charge the one or more charge storage devices 716 usinga single plug or receptacle of a single charging port.

Of course, it should be appreciated that a certain amount of redundancyexists between the one or more switches 704, one or more converters 708,one or more switches 712, and one or more charge storage devices 716.Accordingly, the charge management unit 720 may configure the one ormore switches 704, one or more converters 708, one or more switches 712,and one or more charge storage devices 716 in accordance with a desiredoutcome. As one example, if the first converter 708A was determined tobe in a non-working state, the charge management unit 720 may routepower, or charge, from one or more of the first charging port 304Aand/or second charging port 304B to the second converter 708B.

An embodiment of one or more loads 512 associated with the vehicle 100may be as shown in FIG. 8. The loads 512 may include a bus or electricalinterconnection system 802, which provides electrical energy to one ormore different loads within the vehicle 100. The bus 802 can be anynumber of wires or interfaces used to connect the power generation unit504 and/or power storage system 508 to the one or more loads 512. Theconverter 632 c may be an interface from the power generation unit 504or the power storage system 508 into the loads 512. The converter 632 cmay be the same as or similar to electrical converter 632 as shown inFIG. 6. Similar to the discussion of the one or more converters 708 inFIG. 7, the converter 632 c may be eliminated, if the electricalconverter 632, shown in FIG. 6, is present. However, the converter 632 cmay further condition or change the energy characteristics for the bus802 for use by the loads 512. The converter 632 c may also provideelectrical energy to electric motor 804, which may power the vehicle100.

The electric motor 804 can be any type of DC or AC electric motor. Theelectric motor 804 may be a direct drive or induction motor usingpermanent magnets and/or winding either on the stator or rotor. Theelectric motor 804 may also be wireless or include brush contacts. Theelectric motor 804 may be capable of providing a torque and enoughkinetic energy to move the vehicle 100 in traffic. In some embodiments,the electric motor 804 may be similar, if not identical, to the electricmotor 212 described in conjunction with FIG. 2.

The different loads 512 may also include environmental loads 812, sensorloads 816, safety loads 820, user interaction loads 808, etc. Userinteraction loads 808 can be any energy used by user interfaces orsystems that interact with the driver and/or passenger(s) of the vehicle100. These loads 808 may include, for example, the heads up display 434,the dash display 420, 424, 428, the radio, user interfaces on the headunit, lights, radio, and/or other types of loads that provide or receiveinformation from the occupants of the vehicle 100. The environmentalloads 812 can be any loads used to control the environment within thevehicle 100. For example, the air conditioning or heating unit of thevehicle 100 can be environmental loads 812. Other environmental loadscan include lights, fans, and/or defrosting units, etc. that may controlthe environment within, and/or outside of, the vehicle 100. The sensorloads 816 can be any loads used by sensors, for example, air bagsensors, GPS, and other such sensors used to either manage or controlthe vehicle 100 and/or provide information or feedback to the vehicleoccupants. The safety loads 820 can include any safety equipment, forexample, seat belt alarms, airbags, headlights, blinkers, etc. that maybe used to manage the safety of the occupants of the vehicle 100. Theremay be more or fewer loads than those described herein, although theymay not be shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 illustrates a hardware diagram of communications componentry thatcan be optionally associated with the vehicle 100 in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

The communications componentry can include one or more wired or wirelessdevices such as a transceiver(s) and/or modem that allows communicationsnot only between the various systems disclosed herein but also withother devices, such as devices on a network, and/or on a distributednetwork such as the Internet and/or in the cloud and/or with othervehicle(s).

The communications subsystem can also include inter- and intra-vehiclecommunications capabilities such as hotspot and/or access pointconnectivity for any one or more of the vehicle occupants and/orvehicle-to-vehicle communications.

Additionally, and while not specifically illustrated, the communicationssubsystem can include one or more communications links (that can bewired or wireless) and/or communications busses (managed by the busmanager 974), including one or more of CANbus, OBD-II, ARCINC 429,Byteflight, CAN (Controller Area Network), D2B (Domestic Digital Bus),FlexRay, DC-BUS, IDB-1394, IEBus, I2C, ISO 9141-1/-2, J1708, J1587,J1850, J1939, ISO 11783, Keyword Protocol 2000, LIN (Local InterconnectNetwork), MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport), Multifunction VehicleBus, SMARTwireX, SPI, VAN (Vehicle Area Network), and the like or ingeneral any communications protocol and/or standard(s).

The various protocols and communications can be communicated one or moreof wirelessly and/or over transmission media such as single wire,twisted pair, fiber optic, IEEE 1394, MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1773,power-line communication, or the like. (All of the above standards andprotocols are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety).

As discussed, the communications subsystem enables communicationsbetween any of the inter-vehicle systems and subsystems as well ascommunications with non-collocated resources, such as those reachableover a network such as the Internet.

The communications subsystem 900, in addition to well-known componentry(which has been omitted for clarity), includes interconnected elementsincluding one or more of: one or more antennas 904, aninterleaver/deinterleaver 908, an analog front end (AFE) 912,memory/storage/cache 916, controller/microprocessor 920, MAC circuitry922, modulator/demodulator 924, encoder/decoder 928, a plurality ofconnectivity managers 934-966, GPU 940, accelerator 944, amultiplexer/demultiplexer 952, transmitter 970, receiver 972 andwireless radio 978 components such as a Wi-Fi PHY/Bluetooth® module, aWi-Fi/BT MAC module, transmitter and receiver. The various elements inthe device 900 are connected by one or more links/busses 5 (not shown,again for sake of clarity).

The subsystem 900 can have one more antennas 904, for use in wirelesscommunications such as multi-input multi-output (MIMO) communications,multi-user multi-input multi-output (MU-MIMO) communications Bluetooth®,LTE, 4G, 5G, Near-Field Communication (NFC), etc., and in general forany type of wireless communications. The antenna(s) 904 can include, butare not limited to one or more of directional antennas, omnidirectionalantennas, monopoles, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas,dipoles, and any other antenna(s) suitable for communicationtransmission/reception. In an exemplary embodiment,transmission/reception using MIMO may require particular antennaspacing. In another exemplary embodiment, MIMO transmission/receptioncan enable spatial diversity allowing for different channelcharacteristics at each of the antennas. In yet another embodiment, MIMOtransmission/reception can be used to distribute resources to multipleusers for example within the vehicle 100 and/or in another vehicle.

Antenna(s) 904 generally interact with the Analog Front End (AFE) 912,which is needed to enable the correct processing of the receivedmodulated signal and signal conditioning for a transmitted signal. TheAFE 912 can be functionally located between the antenna 904 and adigital baseband system in order to convert the analog signal into adigital signal for processing and vice-versa.

The subsystem 900 can also include a controller/microprocessor 920 and amemory/storage/cache 916. The subsystem 900 can interact with thememory/storage/cache 916 which may store information and operationsnecessary for configuring and transmitting or receiving the informationdescribed herein. The memory/storage/cache 916 may also be used inconnection with the execution of application programming or instructionsby the controller/microprocessor 920, and for temporary or long termstorage of program instructions and/or data. As examples, thememory/storage/cache 920 may comprise a computer-readable device, RAM,ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, and/or other storage device(s) and media.

The controller/microprocessor 920 may comprise a general purposeprogrammable processor or controller for executing applicationprogramming or instructions related to the subsystem 900. Furthermore,the controller/microprocessor 920 can perform operations for configuringand transmitting/receiving information as described herein. Thecontroller/microprocessor 920 may include multiple processor cores,and/or implement multiple virtual processors. Optionally, thecontroller/microprocessor 920 may include multiple physical processors.By way of example, the controller/microprocessor 920 may comprise aspecially configured Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) orother integrated circuit, a digital signal processor(s), a controller, ahardwired electronic or logic circuit, a programmable logic device orgate array, a special purpose computer, or the like.

The subsystem 900 can further include a transmitter 970 and receiver 972which can transmit and receive signals, respectively, to and from otherdevices, subsystems and/or other destinations using the one or moreantennas 904 and/or links/busses. Included in the subsystem 900circuitry is the medium access control or MAC Circuitry 922. MACcircuitry 922 provides for controlling access to the wireless medium. Inan exemplary embodiment, the MAC circuitry 922 may be arranged tocontend for the wireless medium and configure frames or packets forcommunicating over the wired/wireless medium.

The subsystem 900 can also optionally contain a security module (notshown). This security module can contain information regarding, but notlimited to, security parameters required to connect the device to one ormore other devices or other available network(s), and can include WEP orWPA/WPA-2 (optionally+AES and/or TKIP) security access keys, networkkeys, etc. The WEP security access key is a security password used byWi-Fi networks. Knowledge of this code can enable a wireless device toexchange information with an access point and/or another device. Theinformation exchange can occur through encoded messages with the WEPaccess code often being chosen by the network administrator. WPA is anadded security standard that is also used in conjunction with networkconnectivity with stronger encryption than WEP.

In some embodiments, the communications subsystem 900 also includes aGPU 940, an accelerator 944, a Wi-Fi/BT/BLE PHY module and aWi-Fi/BT/BLE MAC module and a wireless transmitter and receiver. In someembodiments, the GPU 940 may be a graphics processing unit, or visualprocessing unit, comprising at least one circuit and/or chip thatmanipulates and changes memory to accelerate the creation of images in aframe buffer for output to at least one display device. The GPU 940 mayinclude one or more of a display device connection port, printed circuitboard (PCB), a GPU chip, a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effecttransistor (MOSFET), memory (e.g., single data rate random-access memory(SDRAM), double data rate random-access memory (DDR) RAM, etc., and/orcombinations thereof), a secondary processing chip (e.g., handling videoout capabilities, processing, and/or other functions in addition to theGPU chip, etc.), a capacitor, heatsink, temperature control or coolingfan, motherboard connection, shielding, and the like.

The various connectivity managers 934-966 manage and/or coordinatecommunications between the subsystem 900 and one or more of the systemsdisclosed herein and one or more other devices/systems. The connectivitymanagers include an emergency charging connectivity manager 934 and asensor connectivity manager 966 for determining which of the one or moreplugs or receptacles 304A-N are connected to an external chargingstation and further at which voltage or power each of the one or moreplugs or receptacles 304A-N is operating at.

The vehicle database connectivity manager 958 allows the subsystem 900to receive and/or share information stored in the vehicle database. Thisinformation can be shared with other vehicle components/subsystemsand/or other entities, such as third parties and/or charging systems.The information can also be shared with one or more vehicle occupantdevices, such as an app (application) on a mobile device the driver usesto track information about the vehicle 100 and/or a dealer orservice/maintenance provider. In general, any information stored in thevehicle database can optionally be shared with any one or more otherdevices optionally subject to any privacy or confidentiallyrestrictions.

The remote operating system connectivity manager 962 facilitatescommunications between the vehicle 100 and any one or more autonomousvehicle systems. These communications can include one or more ofnavigation information, vehicle information, other vehicle information,weather information, occupant information, or in general any informationrelated to the remote operation of the vehicle 100.

The sensor connectivity manager 966 facilitates communications betweenany one or more of the vehicle sensors and any one or more of the othervehicle systems. For example, the sensor connectivity manager 966 mayfacilitate communication between one or more sensors of the firstcharging port 304A and the second charging port 304B such that thecharge management unit 720 can receive external charging voltage and/orpower information. The sensor connectivity manager 966 can alsofacilitate communications between any one or more of the sensors and/orvehicle systems and any other destination, such as a service company,app, or in general to any destination where sensor data is needed.

In accordance with one exemplary embodiment, any of the communicationsdiscussed herein can be communicated via the conductor(s) used forcharging. One exemplary protocol usable for these communications isPower-line communication (PLC). PLC is a communication protocol thatuses electrical wiring to simultaneously carry both data, andAlternating Current (AC) electric power transmission or electric powerdistribution. It is also known as power-line carrier, power-line digitalsubscriber line (PDSL), mains communication, power-linetelecommunications, or power-line networking (PLN). For DC environmentsin vehicles PLC can be used in conjunction with CAN-bus, LIN-bus overpower line (DC-LIN) and DC-BUS.

The communications subsystem can also optionally manage one or moreidentifiers, such as an IP (internet protocol) address(es), associatedwith the vehicle and one or other system or subsystems or componentstherein. These identifiers can be used in conjunction with any one ormore of the connectivity managers as discussed herein.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a computing environment 1000 thatmay function as the servers, user computers, or other systems providedand described herein. The environment 1000 includes one or more usercomputers, or computing devices, such as a vehicle computing device1004, a communication device 1008, and/or more 1012. The computingdevices 1004, 1008, 1012 may include general purpose personal computers(including, merely by way of example, personal computers, and/or laptopcomputers running various versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows® and/orApple Corp.'s Macintosh® operating systems) and/or workstation computersrunning any of a variety of commercially-available UNIX® or UNIX-likeoperating systems. These computing devices 1004, 1008, 1012 may alsohave any of a variety of applications, including for example, databaseclient and/or server applications, and web browser applications.Alternatively, the computing devices 1004, 1008, 1012 may be any otherelectronic device, such as a thin-client computer, Internet-enabledmobile telephone, and/or personal digital assistant, capable ofcommunicating via a network 1010 and/or displaying and navigating webpages or other types of electronic documents. Although the exemplarycomputer environment 1000 is shown with two computing devices, anynumber of user computers or computing devices may be supported.

Environment 1000 further includes a network 1010. The network 1010 maybe any type of network familiar to those skilled in the art that cansupport data communications using any of a variety ofcommercially-available protocols, including without limitation SIP,TCP/IP, SNA, IPX, AppleTalk, and the like. Merely by way of example, thenetwork 1010 maybe a local area network (“LAN”), such as an Ethernetnetwork, a Token-Ring network and/or the like; a wide-area network; avirtual network, including without limitation a virtual private network(“VPN”); the Internet; an intranet; an extranet; a public switchedtelephone network (“PSTN”); an infra-red network; a wireless network(e.g., a network operating under any of the IEEE 802.9 suite ofprotocols, the Bluetooth® protocol known in the art, and/or any otherwireless protocol); and/or any combination of these and/or othernetworks.

The system 1000 may also include one or more servers 1014, 1016. In thisexample, server 1014 is shown as a web server and server 1016 is shownas an application server. The web server 1014 may be used to processrequests for web pages or other electronic documents from computingdevices 1004, 1008, 1012. The web server 1014 can be running anoperating system including any of those discussed above, as well as anycommercially-available server operating systems. The web server 1014 canalso run a variety of server applications, including SIP (SessionInitiation Protocol) servers, HTTP(s) servers, FTP servers, CGI servers,database servers, Java servers, and the like. In some instances, the webserver 1014 may publish operations available operations as one or moreweb services.

The environment 1000 may also include one or more file andor/application servers 1016, which can, in addition to an operatingsystem, include one or more applications accessible by a client runningon one or more of the computing devices 1004, 1008, 1012. The server(s)1016 and/or 1014 may be one or more general purpose computers capable ofexecuting programs or scripts in response to the computing devices 1004,1008, 1012. As one example, the server 1016, 1014 may execute one ormore web applications. The web application may be implemented as one ormore scripts or programs written in any programming language, such asJava™, C, C#®, or C++, and/or any scripting language, such as Perl,Python, or TCL, as well as combinations of any programming/scriptinglanguages. The application server(s) 1016 may also include databaseservers, including without limitation those commercially available fromOracle®, Microsoft®, Sybase®, IBM® and the like, which can processrequests from database clients running on a computing device 1004, 1008,1012.

The web pages created by the server 1014 and/or 1016 may be forwarded toa computing device 1004, 1008, 1012 via a web (file) server 1014, 1016.Similarly, the web server 1014 may be able to receive web page requests,web services invocations, and/or input data from a computing device1004, 1008, 1012 (e.g., a user computer, etc.) and can forward the webpage requests and/or input data to the web (application) server 1016. Infurther embodiments, the server 1016 may function as a file server.Although for ease of description, FIG. 10 illustrates a separate webserver 1014 and file/application server 1016, those skilled in the artwill recognize that the functions described with respect to servers1014, 1016 may be performed by a single server and/or a plurality ofspecialized servers, depending on implementation-specific needs andparameters. The computer systems 1004, 1008, 1012, web (file) server1014 and/or web (application) server 1016 may function as the system,devices, or components described in FIGS. 1-10.

The environment 1000 may also include a database 1018. The database 1018may reside in a variety of locations. By way of example, database 1018may reside on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) one or moreof the computers 1004, 1008, 1012, 1014, 1016. Alternatively, it may beremote from any or all of the computers 1004, 1008, 1012, 1014, 1016,and in communication (e.g., via the network 1010) with one or more ofthese. The database 1018 may reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”)familiar to those skilled in the art. Similarly, any necessary files forperforming the functions attributed to the computers 1004, 1008, 1012,1014, 1016 may be stored locally on the respective computer and/orremotely, as appropriate. The database 1018 may be a relationaldatabase, such as Oracle 20i®, that is adapted to store, update, andretrieve data in response to SQL-formatted commands.

FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of a computer system 1100 upon whichthe servers, user computers, computing devices, or other systems orcomponents described above may be deployed or executed. The computersystem 1100 is shown comprising hardware elements that may beelectrically coupled via a bus 1104. The hardware elements may includeone or more central processing units (CPUs) 1108; one or more inputdevices 1112 (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, etc.); and one or more outputdevices 1116 (e.g., a display device, a printer, etc.). The computersystem 1100 may also include one or more storage devices 1120. By way ofexample, storage device(s) 1120 may be disk drives, optical storagedevices, solid-state storage devices such as a random access memory(“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable,flash-updateable and/or the like.

The computer system 1100 may additionally include a computer-readablestorage media reader 1124; a communications system 1128 (e.g., a modem,a network card (wireless or wired), an infra-red communication device,etc.); and working memory 1136, which may include RAM and ROM devices asdescribed above. The computer system 1100 may also include a processingacceleration unit 1132, which can include a DSP, a special-purposeprocessor, and/or the like.

The computer-readable storage media reader 1124 can further be connectedto a computer-readable storage medium, together (and, optionally, incombination with storage device(s) 1120) comprehensively representingremote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storagemedia for temporarily and/or more permanently containingcomputer-readable information. The communications system 1128 may permitdata to be exchanged with a network and/or any other computer describedabove with respect to the computer environments described herein.Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may representone or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic diskstorage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/orother machine readable mediums for storing information.

The computer system 1100 may also comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within a working memory 1136, including anoperating system 1140 and/or other code 1144. It should be appreciatedthat alternate embodiments of a computer system 1100 may have numerousvariations from that described above. For example, customized hardwaremight also be used and/or particular elements might be implemented inhardware, software (including portable software, such as applets), orboth. Further, connection to other computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

Examples of the processors 1108 as described herein may include, but arenot limited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801,Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 620 and 615 with 4G LTE Integration and 64-bitcomputing, Apple® A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7motion coprocessors, Samsung® Exynos® series, the Intel® Core™ family ofprocessors, the Intel® Xeon® family of processors, the Intel® Atom™family of processors, the Intel Itanium® family of processors, Intel®Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22 nm Haswell, Intel® Core® i5-3570K 22 nmIvy Bridge, the AMD® FX™ family of processors, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300,and FX-8350 32 nm Vishera, AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments®Jacinto C6000™ automotive infotainment processors, Texas Instruments®OMAP™ automotive-grade mobile processors, ARM® Cortex™-M processors,ARM® Cortex-A and ARM926EJ-S™ processors, other industry-equivalentprocessors, and may perform computational functions using any known orfuture-developed standard, instruction set, libraries, and/orarchitecture.

Referring to FIG. 12, the vehicle 100 is shown configured with one ormore of a plurality of plugs or receptacles 304A-N. As one example, oneof the one or more plugs or receptacles 304A-N may resemble the chargingport 1204 having the J1772 receptacle 1206. Alternatively, or inaddition, one of the one or more plugs or receptacles 304A-N mayresemble the charging port 1208 having the J1772 receptacle 1202 and theCHAdeMO receptacle 1206. Alternatively, or in addition, one of the oneor more plugs or receptacles 304A-N may resemble the charging port 1212having the J1772 receptacle 1202 and the Type 2 receptacle 1210.Alternatively, or in addition, one of the one or more plugs orreceptacles 304A-N may resemble the charging port 1216 having theCHAdeMO receptacle 1206 and the Type 2 receptacle 1210. Alternatively,or in addition, one of the one or more plugs or receptacles 304A-N mayresemble the charging port 1220 having wireless charging interface 1214.In addition to being located on the passenger or driver's side of thevehicle, other suitable locations for the plug or receptacle having thewireless charging interface 1214 may be on an underside of the vehicle100. Alternatively, or in addition, one of the one or more plugs orreceptacles 304A-N may resemble the charging port 1224 having the samecharging receptacle in accordance with the same standard. For example,the charging port 1224 may include two J1772 receptacles 1202, where afirst of the two receptacles is associate with a first charging port304A and the second of the two receptacles is associated with the secondcharging port 304B. As depicted in charging ports 1206, 1212, and 1216,each of the receptacles may be associated with the same first chargingport 304A for example. Alternatively, or in addition, each of thereceptacles may be associated with the same second charging port 304Bfor example.

Each of the charging receptacles may be associated with a particularcharging level. Level 1 charging generally provides charging through a120 volt (V), alternating-current (AC) plug and requires a dedicatedcircuit. Level 1 charging generally refers to the use of a standardhousehold outlet. On one end of a charging cord is a standard,three-prong household plug (NEMA 5-15 connector). On the other end is agenerally a J1772 standard connector, which plugs into the vehicle J1772receptacle 1202. Depending on the battery technology used in thevehicle, Level 1 charging generally takes 8 to 12 hours to completelycharge a fully depleted battery. The most common place for Level 1charging is at the vehicle owner's home and is typically conductedovernight.

Level 2 charging generally refers to charging through a 240V, AC plug.Level 2 charging equipment is generally compatible with all electricvehicles and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. Level 2 chargersgenerally include a cord that plugs directly into the vehicle in thesame connector location used for Level 1 equipment. Depending on thebattery technology used in the vehicle, Level 2 charging generally takes4 to 6 hours to completely charge a fully depleted battery. Chargingtime can increase in cold temperatures. Level 2 chargers are commonlyfound in residential settings, public parking areas, places ofemployment and commercial settings.

Level 3 charging may include charging with CHAdeMO technology, alsocommonly known as DC fast charging. Level 3 charging charges through a480V, direct-current (DC) plug. Most Level 3 chargers provide an 80%charge in 30 minutes. Cold weather can lengthen the time required tocharge. Level 3 charging and equipment is not compatible with allvehicles, and the charge itself is not accepted by all vehicles.

FIG. 13 depicts a charging environment in accordance with embodiments ofthe present disclosure. As depicted in FIG. 13, a charging area 1300 mayinclude one or more charging stations 1304A-C for example, where eachcharging station includes electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE)1308A-B. Each of the vehicles 1312A-C depicted in FIG. 13 include atleast two charging ports in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure, though other electric vehicles may include more or lesscharging ports. A vehicle, such as vehicle 1312A depicted in chargingspot A, may receive charge, or power, from multiple EVSEs, such as EVSE1308A of charging station 1304A and EVSE 1308A of charging station1308B. As previously discussed, the ability for a vehicle, 1312, whichmay be the same as vehicle 100, to receive charge, or power, frommultiple chargers allows a charge time to be reduced to approximatelyhalf.

Alternatively, or in addition, the addition of a second charging portincreases the number of options one may have when charging theirvehicle. As one example, if an EVSE 1308 is non-functional, such as EVSE1304B of the charging station 1308B, or if an EVSE 1304 is occupied, thevehicle 1312B may be able to use another EVSE 1308, such as EVSE 1308Bof the charging station 1304A without the vehicle having to move and/orwithout the vehicle having to wait for another charging spot to becomeunoccupied. Accordingly, even in instances where a vehicle 100/1312 maynot take advantage of a dual charging scenario, the second charging portmakes the charging operation easier and more efficient in terms of nothaving to move the vehicle or wait for another charging spot to becomeavailable.

As further depicted in FIG. 13, a vehicle, such as vehicle 1312C, mayutilize two EVSEs of two different charging stations 1304 that providedifferent charging capabilities. For example, the vehicle 1312C mayutilize a first EVSE 1308A of a charging station 1304C that is capableof charging vehicles in accordance with Level 2 type charging. Thevehicle 1312C may utilize a second EVSE 1308A of a charging station1304D that is capable of charging vehicles in accordance with Level 3type charging. Alternatively, or in addition, the vehicle may utilize awired charging port and a wireless charging interface 1220, as depictedby vehicle 1312D and the associated cutout section of vehicle 1312D.Alternatively, or in addition, a vehicle, such as vehicle 1312E, mayutilize two or more wireless charging interfaces 1220, as depicted bythe multiple cutout sections of vehicle 1312E. Accordingly, a firstwireless charging interface may be associated with a first charging port304A and a second wireless charging interface may be associated with asecond charging port 304B.

Referring now to FIG. 14, a flow diagram of a method 1400 forconfiguring a charging power storage system in a vehicle 100 is shown inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. While a generalorder for the steps of the method 1400 is shown in FIG. 14, the method1400 can include more or fewer steps or can arrange the order of thesteps differently than those shown in FIG. 14. Generally, the method1400 starts with a start operation 1404 and ends with an end operation1432. The method 1400 can be executed as a set of computer-executableinstructions executed by a computer system and encoded or stored on acomputer readable medium. Hereinafter, the method 1400 shall beexplained with reference to the systems, components, assemblies,devices, user interfaces, environments, software, etc. described inconjunction with FIGS. 1-13.

The method 1400 begins at step 1404 wherein an initiation of a chargingoperation may begin. That is, at step 1400, a vehicle, such as vehicle100/1312 may arrive in a charging area, and a connection between atleast one charging port, such as one or more plugs or receptacles304A-N, and an EVSE is made. As one example, in a wireless chargingenvironment, the vehicle 100/1312 may park over a wireless charging(e.g., inductive) pad thereby starting the method 1400. At step 1408,one or more sensors may determine which plugs or receptacles 304A-N areconnected and what type of ESVE the plugs or receptacles are connectedto. For example, a first charging port 304A and a second charging port304B may be connected, where one of the charging ports is connected to400V ESVE and one of the charging ports is connected to a wirelessinduction charging system. Alternatively, or in addition, both chargingports may be connected to 400V ESVE. At step 1412, based on the chargeand the ESVE connections, the charge management unit 720 may determinean optimal configuration of the one or more switches 704, one or moreconverters 708, and one or more switches 712 to charge the one or morecharge storage devices 716. At step 1416, the charging process maybegin. At step 1420, the charge management unit 720 may determine that adifferent optimal configuration of the one or more switches 704, one ormore converters 708, and one or more switches 712 may be needed todecrease an overall charge time, to extend the life of one or morecharge storage devices 716, and/or to maintain a required amount ofelectrical isolation. Accordingly, at step 1424, the charge managementunit 720 may alter the configuration of the one or more switches 704,one or more converters 708, and one or more switches 712. At step 1428,the charging process continues in accordance with the configurationdetermined at step 1424. The method 1400 may end at step 1432 wheneither the one or more charge storage devices 716 are fully charged orwhen a charging operation is canceled by a user.

Any of the steps, functions, and operations discussed herein can beperformed continuously and automatically.

The exemplary systems and methods of this disclosure have been describedin relation to vehicle systems and electric vehicles. However, to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, the precedingdescription omits a number of known structures and devices. Thisomission is not to be construed as a limitation of the scope of theclaimed disclosure. Specific details are set forth to provide anunderstanding of the present disclosure. It should, however, beappreciated that the present disclosure may be practiced in a variety ofways beyond the specific detail set forth herein.

Furthermore, while the exemplary embodiments illustrated herein show thevarious components of the system collocated, certain components of thesystem can be located remotely, at distant portions of a distributednetwork, such as a LAN and/or the Internet, or within a dedicatedsystem. Thus, it should be appreciated, that the components of thesystem can be combined into one or more devices, such as a server,communication device, or collocated on a particular node of adistributed network, such as an analog and/or digital telecommunicationsnetwork, a packet-switched network, or a circuit-switched network. Itwill be appreciated from the preceding description, and for reasons ofcomputational efficiency, that the components of the system can bearranged at any location within a distributed network of componentswithout affecting the operation of the system.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links connectingthe elements can be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof,or any other known or later developed element(s) that is capable ofsupplying and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements.These wired or wireless links can also be secure links and may becapable of communicating encrypted information. Transmission media usedas links, for example, can be any suitable carrier for electricalsignals, including coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics, andmay take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generatedduring radio-wave and infra-red data communications.

While the flowcharts have been discussed and illustrated in relation toa particular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changes,additions, and omissions to this sequence can occur without materiallyaffecting the operation of the disclosed embodiments, configuration, andaspects.

A number of variations and modifications of the disclosure can be used.It would be possible to provide for some features of the disclosurewithout providing others.

In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, aprogrammed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integratedcircuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digitalsignal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such asdiscrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array suchas PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, special purpose computer, any comparable means,or the like. In general, any device(s) or means capable of implementingthe methodology illustrated herein can be used to implement the variousaspects of this disclosure. Exemplary hardware that can be used for thepresent disclosure includes computers, handheld devices, telephones(e.g., cellular, Internet enabled, digital, analog, hybrids, andothers), and other hardware known in the art. Some of these devicesinclude processors (e.g., a single or multiple microprocessors), memory,nonvolatile storage, input devices, and output devices. Furthermore,alternative software implementations including, but not limited to,distributed processing or component/object distributed processing,parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also beconstructed to implement the methods described herein.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be readilyimplemented in conjunction with software using object or object-orientedsoftware development environments that provide portable source code thatcan be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms.Alternatively, the disclosed system may be implemented partially orfully in hardware using standard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whethersoftware or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance withthis disclosure is dependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirementsof the system, the particular function, and the particular software orhardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems beingutilized.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partiallyimplemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executedon programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of acontroller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, orthe like. In these instances, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented as a program embedded on a personal computer such asan applet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server orcomputer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurementsystem, system component, or the like. The system can also beimplemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into asoftware and/or hardware system.

Although the present disclosure describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned hereinare in existence and are considered to be included in the presentdisclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein andother similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein areperiodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents included in thepresent disclosure.

The present disclosure, in various embodiments, configurations, andaspects, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/orapparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, includingvarious embodiments, subcombinations, and subsets thereof. Those ofskill in the art will understand how to make and use the systems andmethods disclosed herein after understanding the present disclosure. Thepresent disclosure, in various embodiments, configurations, and aspects,includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items notdepicted and/or described herein or in various embodiments,configurations, or aspects hereof, including in the absence of suchitems as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g., forimproving performance, achieving ease, and/or reducing cost ofimplementation.

The foregoing discussion of the disclosure has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intendedto limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In theforegoing Detailed Description for example, various features of thedisclosure are grouped together in one or more embodiments,configurations, or aspects for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. The features of the embodiments, configurations, or aspectsof the disclosure may be combined in alternate embodiments,configurations, or aspects other than those discussed above. This methodof disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention thatthe claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recitedin each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventiveaspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosedembodiment, configuration, or aspect. Thus, the following claims arehereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of thedisclosure.

Moreover, though the description of the disclosure has includeddescription of one or more embodiments, configurations, or aspects andcertain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations,and modifications are within the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as maybe within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, afterunderstanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights,which include alternative embodiments, configurations, or aspects to theextent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalentstructures, functions, ranges, or steps to those claimed, whether or notsuch alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions,ranges, or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publiclydedicate any patentable subject matter.

An aspect of the above vehicle include a where the first location on thevehicle is a first side of the vehicle and the second location on thevehicle is a second side of the vehicle different from the first side ofthe vehicle. An additional aspect of the above vehicle includes wherethe first side of the vehicle is a driver's side of the vehicle. Anadditional aspect of the above vehicle includes where each of the firstcharging port and the second charging port include a plurality ofcharging receptacles. An additional aspect of the above vehicle includeswhere the plurality of charging receptacle of the first charging portare charging connectors of the same standard. An additional aspect ofthe above vehicle includes where a charging receptacle of the first portis compliant with the J1772 standard. An additional aspect of the abovevehicle includes a first charge storage device, and a second chargestorage device, wherein the first charging port is coupled to the firstcharge storage device and the second charging port is coupled to thesecond charge storage device. An additional aspect of the above vehicleincludes a first switch coupling the first charging port to the firstcharge storage device, and a second switch coupling the second chargingport to the second charge storage device. An additional aspect of theabove vehicle includes where the first switch is configured to couplethe first charging port to the second charge storage device and wherethe second switch is configured to couple the second charging port tothe first charge storage device. An additional aspect of the abovevehicle includes where the first charge storage device is configured toreceive electric charge from the first charging port when the secondcharge storage device receives electric charge from the second chargingpoint.

Embodiments include a vehicle, comprising a first charging port at afirst location on the vehicle, and a second charging port at a secondlocation on the vehicle, wherein a location of the first charging portis different from the location of the second charging port.

Aspects of the above vehicle include where the first charging portincludes a charging receptacle that is a same standard as a chargingreceptacle of the second charging port. An additional aspect of theabove vehicle includes where the first charging port includes a chargingreceptacle that is of a different standard than a charging receptacle ofthe second charging port. An additional aspect of the above vehicleincludes where the first location is underneath the vehicle. Anadditional aspect of the above vehicle includes where the first chargingport includes a first wireless charging interface and the secondcharging port includes a second wireless charging interface. Anadditional aspect of the above vehicle includes a first charge storagedevice, and a second charge storage device, wherein the first wirelesscharging interface is coupled to the first charge storage device and thesecond wireless charging interface is coupled to the second chargestorage device. An additional aspect of the above vehicle includes wherethe first charge storage device is configured to receive electric chargefrom the first wireless charging interface when the second chargestorage device receives electric charge from the second wirelesscharging interface.

Embodiments include a method of charging a vehicle, comprising receivingelectric charge at a first charging port of the vehicle whilesimultaneously receiving electric charge at a second charging port ofthe vehicle, and routing the electric charge received at the firstcharging port of the vehicle to a first charge storage device whilesimultaneously routing the electric charge received at the secondcharging port of the vehicle to a second charge storage device.

Aspects of the above method include reconfiguring the routing of theelectric charge received at the first charging port of the vehicle suchthat the electric charge received at the first charging port of thevehicle is routed to the second charge storage device while the electriccharge received at the second charging port of the vehicle is routed tothe second charge storage device. Additional aspects of the above methodinclude where the first charging port is located on a side of thevehicle different from the second charging port.

Any one or more of the aspects/embodiments as substantially disclosedherein.

Any one or more of the aspects/embodiments as substantially disclosedherein optionally in combination with any one or more otheraspects/embodiments as substantially disclosed herein.

One or means adapted to perform any one or more of the aboveaspects/embodiments as substantially disclosed herein.

The phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” “or,” and “and/or” areopen-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive inoperation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, Band C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “oneor more of A, B, or C,” “A, B, and/or C,” and “A, B, or C” means Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, or A, B and C together.

The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. Assuch, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more,” and “at least one” can beused interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms“comprising,” “including,” and “having” can be used interchangeably.

The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers toany process or operation, which is typically continuous orsemi-continuous, done without material human input when the process oroperation is performed. However, a process or operation can beautomatic, even though performance of the process or operation usesmaterial or immaterial human input, if the input is received beforeperformance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to bematerial if such input influences how the process or operation will beperformed. Human input that consents to the performance of the processor operation is not deemed to be “material.”

Aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of an embodimentthat is entirely hardware, an embodiment that is entirely software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module,” or “system.”Any combination of one or more computer-readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signalmedium or a computer-readable storage medium.

A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limitedto, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combinationof the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of thecomputer-readable storage medium would include the following: anelectrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computerdiskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document,a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that cancontain or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer-readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer-readable signal medium may be any computer-readable medium thatis not a computer-readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program codeembodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using anyappropriate medium, including, but not limited to, wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of theforegoing.

The terms “determine,” “calculate,” “compute,” and variations thereof,as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any type ofmethodology, process, mathematical operation or technique.

The term “electric vehicle” (EV), also referred to herein as an electricdrive vehicle, may use one or more electric motors or traction motorsfor propulsion. An electric vehicle may be powered through a collectorsystem by electricity from off-vehicle sources, or may be self-containedwith a battery or generator to convert fuel to electricity. An electricvehicle generally includes a rechargeable electricity storage system(RESS) (also called Full Electric Vehicles (FEV)). Power storage methodsmay include: chemical energy stored on the vehicle in on-board batteries(e.g., battery electric vehicle or BEV), on board kinetic energy storage(e.g., flywheels), and/or static energy (e.g., by on-board double-layercapacitors). Batteries, electric double-layer capacitors, and flywheelenergy storage may be forms of rechargeable on-board electrical storage.

The term “hybrid electric vehicle” refers to a vehicle that may combinea conventional (usually fossil fuel-powered) powertrain with some formof electric propulsion. Most hybrid electric vehicles combine aconventional internal combustion engine (ICE) propulsion system with anelectric propulsion system (hybrid vehicle drivetrain). In parallelhybrids, the ICE and the electric motor are both connected to themechanical transmission and can simultaneously transmit power to drivethe wheels, usually through a conventional transmission. In serieshybrids, only the electric motor drives the drivetrain, and a smallerICE works as a generator to power the electric motor or to recharge thebatteries. Power-split hybrids combine series and parallelcharacteristics. A full hybrid, sometimes also called a strong hybrid,is a vehicle that can run on just the engine, just the batteries, or acombination of both. A mid hybrid is a vehicle that cannot be drivensolely on its electric motor, because the electric motor does not haveenough power to propel the vehicle on its own.

The term “rechargeable electric vehicle” or “REV” refers to a vehiclewith on board rechargeable energy storage, including electric vehiclesand hybrid electric vehicles.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle, comprising: a first charging port at afirst location on the vehicle; and a second charging port at a secondlocation on the vehicle, wherein the first charging port and the secondcharging port include charging receptacles of a same standard.
 2. Thevehicle of claim 1, wherein the first location on the vehicle is a firstside of the vehicle and the second location on the vehicle is a secondside of the vehicle different from the first side of the vehicle.
 3. Thevehicle of claim 2, wherein the first side of the vehicle is a driver'sside of the vehicle.
 4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein each of thefirst charging port and the second charging port include a plurality ofcharging receptacles.
 5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein the pluralityof charging receptacle of the first charging port are chargingconnectors of the same standard.
 6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein acharging receptacle of the first port is compliant with the J1772standard.
 7. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising: a first chargestorage device; and a second charge storage device, wherein the firstcharging port is coupled to the first charge storage device and thesecond charging port is coupled to the second charge storage device. 8.The vehicle of claim 7, further comprising: a first switch coupling thefirst charging port to the first charge storage device; and a secondswitch coupling the second charging port to the second charge storagedevice.
 9. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein the first switch isconfigured to couple the first charging port to the second chargestorage device and where the second switch is configured to couple thesecond charging port to the first charge storage device.
 10. The vehicleof claim 7, wherein the first charge storage device is configured toreceive electric charge from the first charging port when the secondcharge storage device receives electric charge from the second chargingpoint.
 11. A vehicle, comprising: a first charging port at a firstlocation on the vehicle; and a second charging port at a second locationon the vehicle, wherein a location of the first charging port isdifferent from the location of the second charging port.
 12. The vehicleof claim 11, wherein the first charging port includes a chargingreceptacle that is a same standard as a charging receptacle of thesecond charging port.
 13. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the firstcharging port includes a charging receptacle that is of a differentstandard than a charging receptacle of the second charging port.
 14. Thevehicle of claim 11, wherein the first location is underneath thevehicle.
 15. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the first charging portincludes a first wireless charging interface and the second chargingport includes a second wireless charging interface.
 16. The vehicle ofclaim 15, further comprising: a first charge storage device; and asecond charge storage device, wherein the first wireless charginginterface is coupled to the first charge storage device and the secondwireless charging interface is coupled to the second charge storagedevice.
 17. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the first charge storagedevice is configured to receive electric charge from the first wirelesscharging interface when the second charge storage device receiveselectric charge from the second wireless charging interface.
 18. Amethod of charging a vehicle, comprising: receiving electric charge at afirst charging port of the vehicle while simultaneously receivingelectric charge at a second charging port of the vehicle; and routingthe electric charge received at the first charging port of the vehicleto a first charge storage device while simultaneously routing theelectric charge received at the second charging port of the vehicle to asecond charge storage device.
 19. The method of charging the vehicle ofclaim 18, further comprising: reconfiguring the routing of the electriccharge received at the first charging port of the vehicle such that theelectric charge received at the first charging port of the vehicle isrouted to the second charge storage device while the electric chargereceived at the second charging port of the vehicle is routed to thesecond charge storage device.
 20. The method of charging the vehicle ofclaim 19, wherein the first charging port is located on a side of thevehicle different from the second charging port.